Command Ops: St. Oedenrode AAR

Tim at Ranger X3X has created a great battalion-level scenario called St. Oedenrode.  It takes place on the Day 1 of Operation Market Garden and is a part of the 101st Screaming Eagles area of operation (AO).  I've done a lot of reading recently about this AO in preparation for my new "Fight for Best" scenario so I am familiar with the attack on the Dommel river bridge at St. Oedenrode.  That reading was a nice backdrop for playing this scenario.

Situation:

You are in command of 1st battalion of the 502nd and charged with moving quickly to seize the Dommel bridge before the German garrison force can destroy it.

I immediately liked the challenge of focusing on a much smaller force.  Also the open Dutch countryside bordered by woods and streams is much different than the confines of the Arnhem map which I have spent so much time on recently.


The final situation map.  I moved my mortar platoon out to the west of the German positions so my advancing companies attacking the bridge wouldn't be in the way.
I achieved a decisive victory against the Oedenrode garrison after they offered to surrender. I sent the full line strength of the battalion into a frontal attack with mortar support from the NW.
This scenario plays quickly and I am going to try it again to see if I can actually secure the bridge.  I am also going to play the new "Favour Axis" option which Tim has setup.

If there had been an additional unit to the west of the town my wide-flanking movement would have run into trouble.  As a suggestion, this might make a decent "Favour Axis 2" option.

Thanks to Tim for creating this scenario!

You can download it here.

Comments

RangerX3X said…
Thanks for the write-up and the feedback. I like smaller force scenarios with short time frames as compared to the huge mega campaigns that last more than four days. This little extract of a larger battle is giving me an urge to create a series of smaller, tactical scenarios for the game. They are fun to create and play.
Chris said…
Hi Tim. I agree. I really enjoyed creating the Lion Route and I am almost done with my second one. They are fun to make and as someone who is learning the game, it helps me think through some of the rules. Also, from a time management perspective it allows me to game and possibly complete what I am doing in one sitting.

I enjoyed St. Oedenrode and look forward to your next one!

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